Katy Texas & West Houston Real Estate Market – May 2013

Homes were flying off the shelf in May as buyers turned out in droves to snatch up a shrinking inventory of residential housing in the Katy and West Houston area. South Katy’s relocation market saw sales surge by 54% compared to May of last year, and prices were up by roughly 5%. North of I-10, sales jumped 28%, with a 9% jump in prices compared to 2012 figures. Homes were selling for higher prices and with less time on market compared to last year, as a resilient economy continued to support a growing real estate market. Single family lease activity continued at a torrid pace as well. South Katy saw a slight increase in closed leases and a 7% rise in rent rates, while area 25 saw a slight decrease closed leases with a similar rise in rent rates. The shrinking supply of homes in the Katy area continued to put upward pressure on rents and sale prices.

With the recent uptick in interest rates from roughly 3.5% to 4.0% on a conforming fixed-rate mortgage, it will be interesting to see how the June numbers come in. Higher rates combined with abnormally low inventory could put a damper on the final June sales numbers. As of this writing, inventory levels stand at 2.1 months’ inventory for area 25 and only 1.5 months of inventory for area 36.

“May sales of single-family homes in Houston totaled 7,794, up 28.0 percent from May 2012. That marks the 24th consecutive monthly increase as well as the largest one-month sales volume ever recorded. Home prices climbed to record highs during the month. The single-family median price rose 11.9 percent from last year to $188,000 and the average price climbed 9.0 percent year-over-year to $256,790. HAR also breaks out the sales performance of existing single-family homes throughout the Houston market. In May 2013, existing home sales totaled 6,642, a 29.9 percent leap from the same month last year. The average sales price rose 10.5 percent year-over-year to $246,607 while the median sales price jumped 11.7 percent to $174,320.”

Broken out by housing segment, May sales performed as follows:

$1 – $79,999: decreased 24.0 percent

$80,000 – $149,999: increased 16.5 percent

$150,000 – $249,999: increased 34.8 percent

$250,000 – $499,999: increased 60.6 percent

$500,000 – $1 million and above: increased 26.5 percent

Houston Texas Lease Property Update

“Houston’s lease property market remained strong in May. Rentals of single-family homes increased 12.2 percent compared to May 2012 and year-over-year townhouse/condominium rentals rose 15.3 percent. At $1,651, the average rent for single-family lease homes reached the highest price since last August. The average rent for townhouses/condominiums climbed to its highest price ever at $1,426.”